A retail consultant tapped by the Downtown Boulder Partnership on Friday presented a host of changes for Boulder's Pearl Street Mall to boost sales and reduce tenant turnover — and none of the proposed fixes involve limiting rents, expanding parking or banning banks.

It's "a study of where we've been, where we are and where we need to go," said Sean Maher, CEO of the Downtown Boulder Partnership. "People come from all over to try and figure out what is the secret sauce of this downtown. We want to be proactive and make sure it stays that way."

Consultant Michael Berne presented findings at the partnership's annual luncheon. Berne's New York firm, MJB Consulting, was tapped along with Denver-based Progressive Urban Management Associates to analyze Boulder's downtown and create a retail strategy for downtown and the mall.

Berne started with some myth busting. Contrary to popular belief, Boulder's downtown is doing well in retaining a local-heavy mix of shops and eateries: 77 percent of merchants are local or small chains. The remaining 23 percent are national chains, and even those brands "are much more likely to align with Boulder's unique lifestyle than they did 15 years ago," he said.

Retail remains strong, making up 61 percent of all downtown businesses, up some 38 percent since 2005. Food and beverage establishments account for 38 percent, bucking national trends in which eateries are proliferating in many shopping districts.

And locals are most certainly visiting the mall — 7.25 times per month, according to the analysis. The problem? They're not spending money, Berne said.

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To combat this, he recommended six changes: Increase the area's already robust offering of outdoor and active lifestyle stores; attract so-called "neo hipsters" with "classic American heritage brands like Boulder's Cedar & Hyde Mercantile;" add shops specializing in cosmetics and beauty, and perhaps a convenience store or small market; spice up the restaurant scene with more ethnic eateries; and attract the university crowd with diverse entertainment experiences such as board game cafes or arcade bars — more than just "binge and puke bars or dance clubs," Berne said.

A gondola from the Hill to downtown would help, Maher suggested to the city council members in the audience, with a plug for t he long-proposed project drawing cheers from the crowd.

Berne and Progressive Urban Management Associates are recommending several "action items" to the Downtown Boulder Partnership, including adding kiosks on the 1300 block in front of the Boulder County courthouse and public works of art to act as "gateways" on the east and west ends of the downtown districts. The east entrance should expand beyond the walking mall, Berne said.

"Basically east of 20th Street, we believe this is the next frontier," he explained. "Warby Parker (the trendy eyeglasses brand that moved in at 1949 Pearl St. in July) is a bellweather. They are known for taking locations in the up-and-coming part of town before it ups and comes.

"We should be paying attention."

The consultants are also recommending a revamp of downtown's alleyways to include alley-facing businesses — a costly project that Maher said would be undertaken in the distant future, if at all. More immediately, Maher would like to act on another recommendation: The creation of a city-owned space on the mall to serve as an incubator for fledgling local retailers.

"We've got a lot of creative people here, but they don't have a lot of money," Maher said. "We want to preserve our local small businesses."

The issue of banks on the mall, which has been a hot topic locally, is a non-issue, Berne said: "Putting it within the context of downtowns where we work, you guys have it relatively good. A lot of downtowns you have a corner with three or four banks; Boulder has three on the whole mall."

Berne dismissed another common complaint of residents and merchants: Parking. The high number of visits by Boulder residents proves it isn't a deterrent, he said. Downtown's notoriously high rents? Also not a problem.

"Too high for whom?" he asked. "With vacancy rates of less than 4 percent, they're obviously not too high for everyone; they're too high for certain kinds of tenants that certain people want."

In Boulder, that often includes cries of outrage when long-time businesses go bust. Berne warned against legislative measures aimed to protect existing businesses.

"You protect the past by depriving the present," he said. "Let's not fear the market and try to control it but rather decide where it's going on its own. Very successful communities have to change over time."

Berne's comments rankled at least one long-term downtown business owner. Lidia Holl has owned Alpaca Connection, 1334 Pearl St., for 30 years. Rent is the No. 1 problem facing merchants like herself, she said, driven up by record property taxes.

Parking, too, is high on her customers' list of complaints: tickets are frequent, and time limits on many downtown spots discourage long, drawn-out shopping days. If the powers-that-be don't think it's a problem, she said, "they're oblivious."

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